[bellringing] >> good job. rep. o'rourke: thank you. thank you. tanks a lot. hey. >> how was it?

rep. o'rourke: it was great. had an amazing running partner. or a lot of amazing running partners. whoe was this guy noah works at the v.a. and university of iowa hospital. he was talking to me about what he sees at the v.a., what he would improve. talks on the health care system. we talked about music. he is a musician. he does jacket from the pain i distracted me he from the pain i was feeling. it felt really good. >> can i ask you a question? rep. o'rourke: absolutely. >> congrats on the race and thanks for coming to iowa. i am self-employed and right now my premium is over 10% a month, which is a lot for anyone. the problem on top of that is the out-of-pocket cost on health care. it is out of control.

i am a college student as well. for me, if i were to hurt my ankle today, safe all -- say fall and trip on something, that could basically put me in a position where i could probably not finish college and i would be in debt for a long time. i know in the past you said that you supported medicare for all. i am not sure where you fall on that, but do you think health care is a human right? if so, if you were elected president, would you support health care programs where every single person in the country could receive full medical care, including dental and vision free of cost? rep. o'rourke: the answer to your first question is yes, i believe it is a human right. yes, i believe that every single american should be able to have health care, mental health care, primary health care, women's health care.

>> including abortion as well? rep. o'rourke: yes, because that is also health care access to a family planning critical -- clinic. family health care, family planning. i want to make sure that we get there, and we get there as quickly as possible. i was talking to dr. noah about whether we can ensure people work basednce dashboard-based insurance to staying in their health care. so we offer medicaid. invest in the medicare program and the quality of care and the customer service, and the choices in the network so that it becomes the preferred choice for everyone, regardless if they have employer-based insurance or not. i think that may be the quickest, surest way to get there.

you may know that there is a woll introduced by t incredible, courageous women that i worked with in the house. are you, like me, like noah trying to find a way to get to what you just described. i am excited there are so many options out there. yes, as president i would find the quickest path to get there person isery single able to get the care that they need. >> free of cost? in the same way that schools are free of cost? the wordurke: i use guarantee because you mentioned the rising cost of your premiums. there are co-pays that kick in after insurance that people cannot afford. it has to be so you can afford it. whether it is absolutely free for everyone upfront, at one point or another everyone will have to pay. i don't think any of it will be free, but i want to make sure that cost is not an object to obtain your care, your

prescription, or taking your child to a therapist. >> what about the bill that was all?duced for medicare for rep. o'rourke: i have not read the representatives bill, i look forward to being able to do that and giving you an answer on that. thank you for being here and asking the questions. >> [indiscernible] the task to get to health care for all. what are you willing to give up for that? rep. o'rourke: i think that has become the discussion. i think you ensure that the purpose does not become the enemy of the good. for example, you can expand medicaid today. mike texas that has refused to do so. bring many more. is an important step in the right direction. if you can introduce medicare in will notmunities, it

only drive down costs and open up selections, but it will guarantee that people in rural america are able to get care. if those are the steps we have to take to get to universal health care, let's take those steps. my position is that we get there as quickly as we possibly can. that will necessarily involve talking to people who may not agree with us today. bringing them in and united the country around the goal. having conversations like we just had is a big part of it. campaigning across the country. listening to everyone, not just the democrats, making sure we find a consensus to accomplish this. >> how much does that factor in what the senate led by mitch mcconnell? how would you deem it possible if it is determined by the republicans? rep. o'rourke: we have to begin the premise that we work with anyone, anytime, anywhere, including mitch mcconnell. he represents the state of

kentucky. as long as he is the senator and the majority leader, he is someone we will have to work with. we don't agree on everything. i am very disappointed in some of his tactics. if we just write people off altogether, we can diminish our expectations of being able to get something done. i am hoping that the goodwill and efforts to work with anyone, anytime, anywhere. there is a question that care about citizens united. >> get big money out of health care. and lobbyists out of washington. we need big money out of washington. rep. o'rourke: i agree with you. not only do we not take any pac money, or any lobbyist money, but if we are going to be successful on all the things we are talking about, we will have to get out of our governments altogether. our government has been corrupted by the special

interests who buy the election. anything, confronting climate change, universal health care. partnering with rural america. it will take people, not corporations. >> how do we preserve jobs? iowa has 10% of people that feel like we do good work. there is a lot of fraud and other issues. people are very ill. how do we balance the private sector and the jobs with health insurance and so forth? rep. o'rourke: one of the things we just talked about is the bill introduced by two congress people. it allows those who have employer-based insurance to keep employer-based insurance. it ensures that americans who have insurance and those who do not can immediately enroll

in medicare and see a provider. if there is a transition from private employer-based insurance. we have to be prepared for that. four the retraining for those jobs may not exist tomorrow. i want to be very clear, the plan that is exciting to me is those who have employer-based insurance are able to keep it. that means those who do the work to ensure that those insurance policies are honored are able to keep their jobs. people on 20 million medicare advantage and united alone. it is not free everything. there are lots of people who pay for health insurance. rep. o'rourke: none of this will be free. nothing that we do is free. another all of us will bear the cost. we want to make sure it is in the most progressive way possible. those who have the most pay the greater share of their income and wealth.

which is something we don't talk about enough. we have to make sure everyone else is ok. when everyone else is ok, they can perform at a much higher level. produce much more for this economy and their families. so we have a mutual interest in getting this figured out. i had a question. i have seen what poverty does to disadvantaged kids. what would your administration do to support and help our kids? in texas half of the school teachers are working a second or a third job. they cannot give their full focus to kids in the classroom. are supporting not just the school supplies, but providing the hot meals.

buying a set of clothes for kids who only have one pair of jeans and one t-shirt to wear every day of the week. paying those teachers a living wage, and paying the educators. the school bus drivers, the cafeteria workers, the librarians, the therapists, that is how you get kids to perform better. also investing in complete schools so it is not just the free and reduced breakfast and munch, but also mental health care and primary health care. they may not be getting get at home. they may be in a different home every single night of the week. they may be sleeping in the back of a car. we need to be there for those kids. they are confined to a life of limited options and that cycle will continue. it is related to health care, it is related to a living wage, not just for teachers, but to everyone.

all of this can be part in making sure we lift those kids up. last question. >> what are we going to do about china? rep. o'rourke: the question for those who deny here is, what are we going to do about china? china has manipulated the markets, it gained the international system of trade and there should be consequences. we must hold them accountable. as one of your former governors shared with me, when has the united states ever gone to war without allies? that is precisely what we are doing against china now. we have alienated the european union. ourave alienated traditional allies and trading partners. we are going in this alone. the tariffs we have levied have produced reciprocal tariffs that are hurting farmers and ranchers throughout the country. of what we grow in the state is bound for foreign markets. and weose markets close

have these reciprocal tariffs, buyers in those markets like china will buy their soybeans or whatever they buy from the united states, somewhere else and may not return to this country. we are doing deep and lasting damage. we need to hold china accountability. -- accountable. we need to do it in a far more effective way that we have been doing right now. thank you for the question. you are taking a lot of criticism from members of your own party. rep. o'rourke: i want to be able to work with them. i don't have anything bad to say in return. i do not even know what folks have said. i just want to keep this positive. >> st. patrick's eve. for us it is one week. >> do you feel more